Seven people stumbled out of the room. Their clothes were dirt and torn, and Ethan saw old wounds that looked infected. They were thin as if they hadn’t eaten in a long time, and most of them cried from relief. They gasped as they saw the bear’s corpse and fell to their knees when Ethan led them out of the building.
Ethan frowned as he looked at them.
“How long have they been here?” he wondered. “This state… They can’t have returned to Earth at the same time as I did.”
“Excuse me,” Ethan approached the man he’d spoken to before.
“Yes?” the man said, meeting Ethan’s eyes with gratitude.
“How long have you been here?” Ethan asked as he looked at the people.
“We,” the man hesitated. “We’ve been stuck here for just over two weeks, but we’ve been scrambling for three months. Ever since we were sent away from that strange white room.”
“Three months?!” Ethan exclaimed, wide-eyed. “What? Why were you sent away so soon?”
“Because we couldn’t cultivate,” the man grumbled and sat down on the stairs. “We were deemed lesser, and such left to our own devices. What about you?”
“I just returned a few hours ago,” Ethan explained as he sat beside the man.
“Oh,” the man sighed. “I see. My name is Jonathan, by the way.”
“Ethan,” he nodded to Jonathan. “You’re the ones who barricaded the building?”
“Yeah,” he nodded and looked back. “It held for a while, and we scavenged whatever weapons we could find, but once that bear showed up-, We didn’t stand a chance. Any wounds we managed to inflict were healed instantly.”
“Yeah, I noticed,” Ethan grimaced, imagining their horror. “Do you know of any secure place in the area? Anywhere we can go? You’ll need food and water.”
“Ah,” Jonathan shook his head. “Before the bear showed up, we’d sent people out to find others, but we haven’t seen any other barricaded areas. The last report I heard was of a supermarket not too far away.”
“Right,” Ethan nodded. “We should head in that direction and quickly. The sooner we find someplace to secure and food for you, the better.”
“Thank you,” Jonathan bowed his head. “I’ll get everyone up and ready.”
Jonathan rose and began talking to the others. Ethan saw fear in their eyes, but hunger and exhaustion urged them to move. The lure of food and safety egged them on.
They began moving, Ethan walking alongside Jonathan as he led the group back the way Ethan had come.
“Right,” Ethan sighed. “It’s my old job. Should I just get them there and then head back? I need to find my family, but I can’t just leave them. The System has already abandoned them. Now that I've saved them, I can’t do that. That would be cruel.”
Ethan sighed as he cycled his Qi. His injury had mostly healed, but he was almost out of attuned Qi due to the heavy use of Void Step.
“I can’t fight off a horde of enemies,” Ethan lamented. “If I encounter more monsters like that bear, I will die if I can’t escape. Perhaps I should wait. I should stay with these people, secure a location and find a way to recover my Qi somehow. Only then will I be in a position to help my family. Mom and Alissa, please stay alive. Hold on, I’m coming… Eventually.”
They walked in silence but moved slowly. The survivors were exhausted and hungry. Ethan pushed his Spatial Sense to its limits and used it to scout and guide the group around monsters.
“I’d rather avoid spending more Qi,” Ethan thought. “Thankfully, Spatial Sense doesn’t seem to consume any Qi.”
They reached the supermarket as the sun met the horizon, bathing the city in dusk. The building's windows were shattered, but the store's storage areas were secure since there were no windows, and all the doors were reinforced.
Jonathan approached the door and frowned.
“We need to find some way through,” he mused, but Ethan smirked and took out his keys. He’d kept them in his pockets ever since he exited his car that fateful night. He jangled them, inserted them, and opened the door.
The hinges squealed, and Ethan had to work hard to open them, but soon enough, the group was safely inside.
“How do you have the key?” Jonathan asked as his group were scarfing down cold soup.
“Oh,” Ethan scratched his neck. “I worked here before all this. I had just locked up when I was brought to the Trials room.”
“Oh, wow,” Jonathan snickered. “That’s lucky, then. So, what now?”
“Well,” Ethan frowned. “I think you should focus on recuperating first and foremost. Get some food and fluids in you. There should be enough food here for a while. I need to focus on recovering my resources. Can you arrange for someone to keep an ear out? You shouldn’t leave the storage area, but position someone near the doors.”
“Right,” Jonathan nodded. “That sounds good, but what about after?”
“I think we should take one thing at a time for now,” Ethan said. “Once we’ve settled in and your people have recovered, we can take stock. I’d like to find others eventually since I can’t be everywhere. Other cultivators would be great.”
Stolen novel; please report.
“I see,” Jonathan frowned but nodded. “That makes sense.”
“I know you’re worried,” Ethan put a hand on Jonathan’s shoulder. “People could be dying out there as we speak, but we can’t help them if we die looking. We’ll save more people by preparing ourselves.”
“I know,” Jonathan grimaced. “I know, but it still feels wrong.”
“Yeah, it does,” Ethan sighed and stepped away. “It’s all we can do, though.”
Ethan walked away and entered the manager’s office. Since the chair had collapsed, he sat down on the floor, closed his eyes and entered meditation.
“So, filling up my unattuned Qi is no problem,” Ethan thought as Qi flooded his veins. “But, what am I supposed to do about my Spatial and Void Qi? I doubt I will just stumble onto a source of it.”
A notification broke his concentration, and Ethan opened his eyes to a box filled with wondrous words.
[Quests Issued: Key to Cultivation, Survival 1.]
Key to Cultivation: Travel to the designated location and find the treasure. Reward: High-Tiered Cultivation Aid.
Survival 1: Ensure your people survive. 0/30 days survived. Rewards: High-Tiered Array Manual.
Ethan sat, frozen for a while, before he grinned.
“Now we’re talking!” Ethan sighed as he closed his eyes. Before he returned to his cultivation, though, he activated his Spatial Sense and frowned at what he saw. “Who the fuck are they?”
Five people gathered outside the gate leading into the supermarket from the storage. Ethan counted seven on the storage side of the gate.
“So, there’s someone else here,” Ethan said, getting to his feet and rushing out the door. “Jonathan, what’s the situation?”
Jonathan frowned and looked at him.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“Where are the lookouts I asked you to arrange?” Ethan asked as he walked toward the gate.
“They’re by the exit,” Jonathan pointed, and Ethan saw three people sitting by the door they used to enter.
“So,” Ethan rubbed his forehead. “You ignored the gate into the supermarket, then? The supermarket is wide open due to the shattered windows.”
“Oh,” Jonathan’s eyes widened.
“Yeah,” Ethan sighed as he stopped a few meters from the gate. “There are people out there.”
“Oh no,” Jonathan whispered. “What do we do? You do nothing. I’ll handle this.”
WIth that, Ethan activated Void Step, feeling his Qi drop to near nothing. He appeared behind the group and saw they were five rugged, rough-looking men. They seemed to be trying to pry the gate open, but it was reinforced metal and weighed quite a lot. They held metal rods or knives—no swords or anything special.
Ethan cleared his throat, causing the group to spin around, and stumbled back as they noticed him.
“Holy fuck!” one of them exclaimed. He was a large man with a full beard and matted hair. “Who the fuck are you, and how did you get there?”
“I am Ethan Marshall, and this is my turf,” Ethan said as he clasped his hands behind his back. “I suggest you leave. Now.”
“Oh, yeah?” the man snickered. “And why would we do that? There are five of us, and while you’re sneaky, you’re outnumbered.”
The other four rose to their full height and laughed along with their leader. Ethan sighed.
“Because you are mortal,” Ethan explained. “And I am a cultivator.”
“Pff,” the leader laughed and turned to his goons, and Ethan took the opportunity. He channelled Qi into his body and dashed forward, grabbed the man’s throat and lifted him.
“You don’t stand a chance, pal,” Ethan said calmly. “I don’t want to kill you. Just leave, please, and don’t come back here with ill intent. The next time, I may not be so merciful.”
He dropped the leader and jumped back, then stepped aside. The group scrambled to leave, pushing each other out of the way, and left the supermarket.
“That’s gonna come back to bite me in the ass, isn’t it?” Ethan lamented as he left the building. He re-entered through the reinforced door since he had the key.
“What happened?” Jonathan asked.
“Five guys,” Ethan explained as he sat on a stack of pallets. “Armed with knives and iron rods. They were trying to pry the gate open. I scared them off.”
“Scared them off?” Jonathan frowned. “But, what if they come back?”
“The door and gate are reinforced,” Ethan sighed. “It’s going to take a lot of effort to get through. As long as you stay here, you’ll be fine.”
“Right,” Jonathan shook his head. “Until a cultivator shows up.”
“If that happens,” Ethan rubbed his neck. “I’ll handle it.”
Jonathan looked sceptical but didn’t argue.
“Just remember to have someone listen by the gate as well,” Ethan reminded him. “At least we’ll be prepared if they manage to get through.”
“Yeah,” Jonathan nodded and spoke to a few of the other people.
Ethan looked at them, and they had regained some colour and energy, but they still looked worn and harried.
“What weapons do we have available?” Ethan asked.
“Oh,” Jonathan frowned and looked around. “Similar to the ones you said the others had. Some knives and iron rods.”
“Hmm,” Ethan scratched his chin. “I think there’s a hunting store not too far from here. We might find something there, but it’s also likely that others have found it. In any case, we need to train. If we're frugal, there’s food here for a week, but we should begin hunting and scavenging before that.”
“Right,” Jonathan rubbed his hands nervously.
“Take a few days,” Ethan said and smiled. “Recover your strength. Then we should begin doing some exercises. We can’t stay cooped up here forever, and I can’t be everywhere or do everything. The System has begun giving me quests, and one of them involves you surviving for a month. Some quests will likely benefit you as well, but we need to earn every benefit.”
“Yeah,” Jonathan frowned and gritted his teeth. “Working with the System, huh? I'm not sure how I feel about that. It relegated us to death. It threw us out the moment it was clear we couldn’t cultivate.”
Ethan nodded and closed his eyes.
“I’m not sure that’s the whole story, though,” Ethan mused. “I get the feeling that the System is an aid for cultivators. I can cultivate normally, and the System gives me boosts on top of that. There’s a chance the System can’t do anything for those who can’t cultivate. Perhaps it has some limitations and must work through the cultivators somehow. Don’t get me wrong; sending you back without protection before the cultivators were cruel. It should have, at least, held you there and sent everyone back simultaneously. It would have been far safer for everyone, I think.”
“Oh, I see,” Jonathan frowned and shook his head. “I can’t-. The last few months have been hard, Ethan. They’ve been a nightmare, but if you’re right, and the System’s rewards to you will benefit us, then we’ll deal with it.”
“Well,” Ethan smiled crookedly. “One quest is for me. To find something that will help my cultivation, which will help me keep you safe. The other quest is directly for your survival.”
“Yeah,” Jonathan nodded. “Fine. Let’s get to it. We’ll take a few days to recover; then we’ll start training.”
“Then, it’s a plan,” Ethan nodded and retreated to the office.